


A Touch to the Left

by happyshoggoth



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M, spoilers for the most recent episodes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:18:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1706183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyshoggoth/pseuds/happyshoggoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A very short story about a hopeless radio host's encounter with the one person he needs to see the most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Touch to the Left

This day started off the same as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Cecil had lost track of the days since he had peered into those smiling faces, those smiling but most definitely unhappy faces. They had done something to him, though he had no memory, and then he had awakened in this damp, windowless place.

And then the first one had dropped from a hole in the ceiling with that buzzing, grating mechanical noise, just as this one had now.

It was about the size and consistency of a bar of soap. One side had the imprinted image of a cheerful face, while the other side displayed that familiar three-pointed logo, followed by a tiny registered trademark symbol, as if to say, “you might be in some monstrously illegal jail cell, but still, don’t steal our intellectual property!”

Cecil groaned, and took a cautious bite out of the thing. It didn’t taste bad, not in any specific way. It just tasted like nothing, like eating a fistful of wax. It was filling, however, almost too filling, and Cecil had no doubt it was formulated for that exact purpose in a laboratory somewhere.

He stared down at the half-bitten corporate logo, absently chewing the brownish-tan substance in the left side of his mouth. _StrexCorp Synernists Incorporated_ , he thought. He wondered where Tamika was right now, and if she was receiving any worse treatment than him. He wondered if she was really in the Juvenile Detention Center, and where they had told the public that their radio host had been taken.

In the dim, sterile light, he lifted the brick of whatever it was up to his mouth for another bite, when something shimmered in the corner of his eye.

“Wh-“ he started to say aloud as he whipped around, but he realized quickly who it was.

“Cecil,” the scientist said, smiling at him with a look of intense sadness on his face. No one meant their smiles these days.

He could scarcely believe his eyes. “Carlos!” Quickly, he jumped to his feet, and leaned in to hug his boyfriend. But his arms just wrapped around air, and he passed right through Carlos as though he weren’t even in the room.

“Cecil, I’m…”

“Like Dana?”

Carlos nodded. “Like Dana.”

“How did you find me?” Cecil wondered aloud. “Did they-“

“Strex? No, they can’t get to me. For now, at least.”

“Are you okay? Do you know where they’re keeping me?” The questions flooded out of him like water from a keg that had sprung a leak.

“I’m fine, Cecil. I’m more worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “They’re not doing anything that the City Council hasn’t done before.” This wasn’t entirely true; Council accommodations were usually rather comfortable. He hesitated before asking again: “Do you know where I am?”

“I’m sorry, Cecil, I don’t. I don’t know where exactly this is. I just focused on you, and kept walking toward you until I found this place.” He looked glumly at the barren walls.

“How is Dana? Her army? Is the Man in a Tan Jacket there? And the smiling-“

“Cecil,” Carlos said in an urgent tone, “I’m sorry. I don’t have very much time. It’s hard enough to pull this off, and the light is creeping closer every second. That’s not making it any easier.”

_The Unraveling of All Things_. Cecil shivered. “Carlos,” he began. “Whatever you do, stay safe.” His words were concise, but tears were beginning to well up in his eyes. _No,_ he told himself. _Be strong. Be strong for Carlos._

“I plan to. I’m going to get to the bottom of all this.” His voice was quavering. “And we’re going to save the town, just like before, just like always. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Cecil whispered, trembling. It was rare that he was short on words. “Oh, please, Carlos, just tell me I’ll see you again.”

“You’re seeing me right now, aren’t you?”

“I mean _see_ you see you.”

“Oh.” Carlos looked at the ground, and then back into Cecil’s eyes. “Yes. We’re going to get out of this, okay?”

“I love you, Carlos.”

“I l-“ And the scientist was gone as quickly as he had come.

Cecil slumped back down to the floor, unable to even cry. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, thinking about Carlos, worrying about Night Vale, until finally he heard the buzzing sound from above yet again.


End file.
